The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-09-16
GOSSIP OF THE HUB.
THE SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS BE-
FORE THE WORKING GIRL.
Early Marriage or No Marriage a Choice
Of Evils, in an Alarming Number of
=. Cases-Theater Notes.-The Base Ball
Failure. w


Of Evils, in an Alarming Number o
Cases-Theater Notes.-The Base bal
Failure.
special Correspondence.
Boston. Sept. IA.
TIE city has been startled by the assertion
at recent meeting Of working WON en- thai
the path to vice is made tempting by the
promotion and higher pay of many sales
girls and clerks who are frail, while stub
born virtue contents itself with starvation
pay. Tomany it would appear to be new
discovery, whereas the truth Of the state
ment has long been apparent to the observ-
ing.
The Herald virtuously deprecates dragging
those facts to light lest they discourage the
weak, but the truth of the matter is ghost
that will not down. The infamy cries
aloud; to ignore it is madness.
Another meeting of working women will
be held this week, at which the matter will
be further discussed. Meanwhile the fol-
lowing simple statement by working girl
has pathetic interest. Her comments are
excited by the report of Mrs. Smith who
wanted to know how shop girl could live
on s.. 90 week, and tried it herself. She
stated her experience in a seventh story at
tic at 81. rs week, and then she tried to
exist on $1. 80 per week. Again she says if
she had to do so another week she would
have had to steal to satisfy her hunger.
''She is unreasonable, " says the shop girl,
''She is not shop girl, and therefore can
never know our real sufferings or wants. l
am shop woman and do know them. l
got good room in the heart of the city for
80 per week. saving 20 cents on Mrs.
Smiths bill. Then l dispensed with the
butter and soup, and had bread with boiled
potatoes. Two or three times a week had
piece of meat. The whole did not cost me
but 81 a week, thereby saving 35 cents.
total saving, on Mrs. Smiths bill, of 60
cents.
''Now, Mrs. Smith speaks of stealing to
satisfy her hunger. Supposing poor shop
girl steals a 5-cent loaf of bread, what be.
comes of her? She is arrested and sent
down to Deer island for thirty DAYS.
When she returns what is she good for?
Nothing.
Il am an advocate of the Boston girls
leaguing together. Let them firmly saw
they will not work for low prices and
stick to it and they must succeed. Some
one says that the city will have to take
care Of u.s. The city will have to care for
paupers, then as criminals 1t is Just as
long one way as the other
F n.s*s sft s@
9A|~'.OE Il desperate scotidition naturally
makes any sort Of marriage that prom
ises support a resort eagerly sought by not
few hapless women. Consider the follow
ing statement by man who began as a
clerk on q small salary, and who is now the
head of one of the largest dry goods estab-
: lislmei.ts in the world.
have in my store" he remarked,
"over 1000 men and women, and it is my
observation that nearly all of them who
are in trouble can trace their sorrows to a
too early marriage. Take, for example,
the case of a clerk who makes sic week.
That is salary just sufficient to support
himself, and no more; but he meets pretty
girl, who, say, is also earning $40 week
and marries her.
''All goes well for little while, but soon
the young wife has to resign her position in
the store to 60 home and nurse her child.
The clerk has now three to provide for, and
he. very soon finds that $40 week will
not do it. He runs in debt and maybe
takes to drink. He becomes discontented and
tquarrelsome, and before long he and his
Voung wife are having it hot and heavy
every day. Then the separation takes place,
and, as is always the rule in such cases, the
man goes off to some other city to begin
life anew, while the poor young mother is
left at home to provide for her baby.
81 have over one hundred young women
in my store to-day who have passed through
just such history. l am not drawing an
imaginary picture, and all their sorrows
and miseries might have been avoided if
they had waited only IA few years before
contracting marriage.
eff the young clerk had said: Il am earn
ing $40 week, but l will not marry until
am getting a salary of $25 week, how
different would have been the fate of him
serf and the young girl whose life he
ruinedr'
Radbourn, having been suspended by the
ball management without pay for ''indif-
ferent playing" declares that his arm has
been out of condition for a long time. and
that this fact with the handicap imposed on
his talents by the new rules ac-
count for his poor success Yet |
he challenges comparison with the |
work of the other crack pitchers, claiming
that he has done as well as most of them. |
Ferguson, of Philadelphia, he declares the
best pitcher in the country. Radbourn |
says he has not been trying to get release
from Boston; he would like to stay here,
and he thinks the size of his salary is what
bothers the economical directors.
xTs
That is all very pretty, and people
would like to sympathize with Radbourn,
but he never can make the public believe
that a man, with his long head and con-
summate skill when at his best, is trying to
be that best when he will go between the
extremes of magnificent and wretched
work not only on different days, but in
different parts of the same game. Rad
bourn says that he has lived up to his con-
tract. No ball player who allows drink
to get the best of him can live up to a con-
tract which calls for his best services, the
quality of such services being dependent
upon his physical condition.
1t is stated that should he ask to be rein
stated, with promises of exemplary con-
duct, his request will be granted, but on
this point the directors are num- Ii he
signs Boston contract next year, it will
be at greatly reduced salary, with the
promise of more, conditioned upon salts
facforv xyOrE